Local Marketing v. Bennett

Citations

• 2026 Tex. Bus. 40

Syllabus

The plaintiff sued former employees in district court, alleging they formed a competing company using the plaintiff's trade secrets and in breach of employment contracts. Following removal of the case to the Texas Business Court, a defendant countersued for defamation and tortious interference with business relations based on letters the plaintiff sent to its former, actual, or prospective customers that it had learned were now the defendants' customers. The plaintiff moved to dismiss the counterclaims under the TCPA. The court rules that the counterclaims are based on or in response to the plaintiff's communications pertaining to the district court judicial proceedings. The defendant did not meet its burden on damages and did not create a rational inference of defamation per se. The court grants the motion to dismiss the counterclaims and awards attorney's fees.